Tatum to return to stripper roots for new Soderbergh film

WENN, Friday, April 29, 2011, 3:14pm (PDT)

Hunky Channing Tatum is returning to his days as a stripper for a racy new film.

The "Eagle" star has teamed up with moviemaker Steven Soderbergh to develop a new project about the sleazy world of male strip clubs.

Channing was a stripper in Florida before his acting career took off.

He says, "This was a wild and pivotal time in my life and I couldn't be more thrilled to go down the rabbit hole with Steven."

Tatum will co-produce the project, which is tentatively titled "Magic Mike."

He'll play a mentor to a young dancer in the film, according to Variety.

Soderbergh adds, "When Channing talked to me about this, I thought it was one of the best ideas I'd ever heard for a movie. I said I wanted in immediately. It's sexy, funny, and shocking. We're using 'Saturday Night Fever' as our model, so hopefully we're on the right track."